Astral's demerger plan triggers sharp market selloff, brokerages trim targets

Astral announced a demerger of its adhesives, paints and construction chemicals business into a separate listed entity while retaining the plumbing business in the listed company, triggering a sharp selloff and brokerages trimming target prices by 5-9%. The plumbing division is now the earnings engine, contributing around 87 percent of total PBIT at about Rs 686.9 crore in FY26 versus Rs 605.4 crore in FY24, while chemicals PBIT declined to Rs 103.4 crore. HDFC Securities retained a buy rating with a target of Rs 1,740 against the closing price of Rs 1,364.6, and management expects the chemicals business to scale to Rs 4,400-5,000 crore over four to five years from Rs 1,861 crore in FY26.